Google, Pancras Square

Pancras Square builds on AHMM’s previous design work on Google’s Kings Cross HQ building, for which we conceived the three-pronged analogy of Theatre, Stage Set and Props. The shell of the building is the Theatre, with an enduring lifespan of 50+ years; large fixed assets such as gyms, restaurants and events spaces are the Stage Sets (5-10 year lifespan); whilst the smaller fit out functions such as workspace and meeting rooms are the Props ( up to 5 year lifespan).
At 6 Pancras Square the Theatre is inherited, so the Stage Set and Props become the focus of this project. Fit outs can be wasteful in both material use and lifespan, often prematurely redundant and either unable or too costly to be adapted to business changes. From design inception, we embraced the inevitable need for the fit out to adapt and evolve, to be re-used, to re-invent itself and importantly, to be a living, breathing space for Google to overlay its own creativity over time.
Our solution has not only used Jack, our modular meeting room system, but has carefully considered the location, size and relationship of hub spaces to each other, such that the open plan office areas can expand and contract as capacity pressures fluctuate. The project provides space for around 2,500 Googlers to work in comfort with all of the ancillary facilities that make Google the creative, diverse, and exciting workplace Googlers know and love.